The Historical and Cultural
Museum-Reservation of Garni (Armenia) and the Palestinian cultural
landscape of Battir are the winners of this year’s Melina Mercouri
International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural
Landscapes (UNESCO-Greece). The prize will be awarded at a ceremony to
be held at UNESCO Headquarters on 24 May.

“In rewarding the management of Garni and
Battir, UNESCO wishes to raise awareness of these sites’ beauty and
importance, of their tangible and symbolic values, so as to help avert
threats to their continued preservation,” said the Director-General of
UNESCO Irina Bokova, endorsing the recommendation of an international
jury.

The laureates will receive $US 15,000 each.

...The Battir Cultural Landscape (Battir Village
and its surroundings, occupied Palestinian territory) testifies to
4,000 years of the terraced cultivation of vines and olives. Home to
1,150 people, of whom 350 live in the village of Husan, the landscape
also features walled terraces, irrigation canals, watchtowers and other
dry stone edifices. The site is recognized for its great aesthetic and
symbolic value. The jury particularly emphasized action undertaken to
stabilize the traditional agricultural use of the landscape in
cooperation with local farmers and the adoption of protection
legislation and a sound management plan. Battir is part of a larger area (“Land of Olives and
Vines”), which is included in the “Inventory of cultural and natural
heritage sites of potential outstanding universal value in Palestine”,
issued by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities with a view to future
nomination for World Heritage listing.

There is no Hebrew name for it !! It was called Battir since the end of the 19th century, in which no single jew was on this land. The name Battir consists of two arabic words the first is Bait (hause) the second comes from the arabic word tair (Birds), so if we combine these two words it becomes Bait-tair (Hause of Birds) and with the time the words was shortened into Battir !!

Isn't it amazing that those who are either ignorant and make up things or don't really like Jews in the least choose "Anonymous" as their names?

Anyone, the name Betar/Beitar appears in the Talmud already (pre-500 CE and probably much early since the battle there was in 135 CE) in the Tractate Gittin, p. 57a–b:-

"Because of the spoke of a chariot Betar was destroyed. For they [the residents of Betar] had a custom: When a boy was born they would plant a cedar tree, and when a girl was born they would plant an acacia. At the time of a marriage, the trees were cut down and the wood was used to make the bridal canopy.

One day Caesar’s daughter was passing by, and the spoke of her chariot broke. Her attendants cut down a cedar and took it to fix the chariot. The residents of Betar came and attacked them, and the attendants went and told Caesar: “The Jews are rebelling against you.” The Romans attacked them [and destroyed the city].

R. Yochanan taught: There were eighty thousand Roman soldiers who beseiged Betar. [The city was defended by] Bar Koziva, who had two hundred thousand soldiers with severed fingers [for the test of admission into Bar Koziva’s army called for one to cut off his own finger to show his bravery]."

About Me

American born, my wife and I moved to Israel in 1970. We have lived at Shiloh together with our family since 1981. I was in the Betar youth movement in the US and UK. I have worked as a political aide to Members of Knesset and a Minister during 1981-1994, lectured at the Academy for National Studies 1977-1994, was director of Israel's Media Watch 1995-2000 and currently, I work at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem. I was a guest media columnist on media affairs for The Jerusalem Post, op-ed contributor to various journals and for six years had a weekly media show on Arutz 7 radio. I serve as an unofficial spokesperson for the Jewish Communities in Judea & Samaria.